Snowboard Materials & Construction | Fiber Glass | Foam Core

This article will give you general ideas of how Snowboards are Constructed and what they are made of. Although every Snowboard manufacturer has their own special trick when it comes to making their Snowboards, this section will discuss the basic formula on How to Make a Snowboard.

Snowboard Construction

There are some Basic Components that go into the Construction of every Snowboard. Each Snowboard has a base, an outer edge, a core, and a topsheet. A good quality Snowboard will be constructed like a Ski - it has metal edges and a P-tex base. There are generally Two Types of Snowboard Construction: the Capped Snowboards and the Traditional Sandwich Construction.

In Capped Snowboards, the top sheet (outer skin) is pinched over the sides of the snowboard meeting the steel edge. On the other hand, the top sheet on Traditional Sandwich Construction is flat, with the armor plating on the sides provided by separate sidewalls.

Each Type of Snowboard is similarly constructed with exception to some tooling modifications. Some designers say that Cap Construction enhances edge hold on hard snow and generally improves board responsiveness. Others claim that caps are harder to repair if you damage the sidewall. Both types have their merits, keep in mind though that what really matters is the materials under the skin.

What's in a Board?

The eight main materials in a snowboard are the:

Topsheet with printed graphic

Fiber glass or epoxy

Wood or foam core

Steel inserts

Plastic base, (p-tex)

Metal edges

Resin System (glue)

Rubber Foil

Carbon fiber can be added along with other performance enhancing materials.

Layers of a Snowboard

A Snowboard is similar to a sandwich that is made up of many layers. What follows are the components of a snowboard from top to bottom:

The top layer of a Snowboard is a protective plastic layer called a "topsheet." The topsheet does not only protect the insides of the Snowboard from damage and exposure to ultra-violet rays, it also provides a good surface for graphics. Although the material used for the topsheet can vary, there are basically two types of topsheets - the glossy and matte. Glossy topsheets usually come with sublimated graphics. On the other hand, matte topsheets in general have screened-on graphics.

Inside the topsheet is a layer of "fiberglass". This fiberglass lies on top of the core.

The Snowboard's "core", which lies beneath the fiberglass, is what the rest of the board is wrapped around with. The core makes up most of the thickness of the Snowboard. This is usually made of wood foam, honeycomb panels, or a combination of wood and other composite materials, with sets of metal inserts needed to mount bindings.

Cores made from honeycomb are lightweight and are surprisingly strong. With a wood core, you can be assured of a smooth response and lively flex from the board. A foam core, in contrast, can sometimes loose its flex.

Next is another layer of fiberglass, "fiberglass reinforced plastic" in particular. This provides stiffness and strength to the Snowboard.

Following the fiberglass are steel edges. These edges surround the P-tex of the Snowboard, allowing the board to dig into the snow while turning. There are actually Two Kinds of Edges: partial steel edges that run only along the sides of the board, ending at the nose and tail, and edges that wrap all the way around both ends of the board.

On the bottom is a layer of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene material commonly called "P-Tex." This is a dense, abrasion resistant plastic with low friction properties which provides the slippery surface that makes the Snowboard slide on snow surface. To keep your Snowboard running fast throughout the winter, you need to add wax to this base layer.

There are basically three different types of Snowboard bases - extruded, sintered, and graphite. Extruded bases are long lasting and easy to repair. However, they are the slowest type of base, and they hold less wax than the other types of bases. A sintered base is superior to the extruded base since it's more durable, faster, and can hold wax better. Then again, it's more expensive and difficult to repair. The graphite base, on the other hand, is the fastest type of Snowboard base and has a higher capacity to hold Wax. This type of Snowboard bases are always deep black and are mostly found on fast racing boards.

If you're looking for high performance, opt for a Snowboard with a sintered base. Then again, if you're on a tight budget, an extruded model will do.

The answer is yes! I just buit a split board, but before I did that, I sanded down the top and painted the board. It looks so professional... I couldn''t believe I found out how from an online site. What you need to do is go to an auto shop such as autozone, Schucks, etc... and buy what ever color you need in Dupli paint, and then buy the gloss finish. I took some pinstriping and painted the base silver with the pin stripe stickers and painted black over that and now my board is black with silver pin stripes... oh I put the gloss on after I took the pin stripe stickers off. Case and point... you can!

I am working on a project in college and i have to produce 3 products, one of my products happens to be a snow board. Luckily its my secondary product so i only have to break in down into 2 components. I chose a wood core and a fiber glass shell, i know there are more components, but DOES ANYONE KNOW AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH A WOOD CORE AND THE FIBER GLASS WOULD BE TO PURCHASE???

Hey guys, you all seem to be asking questions about making your own boads, i study composite engineering at uni so i thought i''d try and answer some common q''s. first off, unfortunately, in order to make a board of the same quality that you get from the leading manufacturers you need some pretty complex kit such as precision moulding tools and vacuum consolidation/ resin infusion stuff (without going into detail this is all to get stiffer/ higher performance lay-up). however i recon you could still make a half decent board the old skool way. in terms of materials your gunna need some UD glass and some ,- 90 glass matt plus a bit of surfboard (fine weave matt). You also need some polyester or epoxy resin, depending on your budget and weather you really care that much, (they actually have very similar tensile properties). As for the wood core I am not entirely sure but both hickory and maple are renowned for their flexural rigidity (hence skateboards and drum sticks) so that would be my best advice. construction is almost explained in this article anyway and if you are not sure how to lay-up a laminate there are plenty of resorces online readily avaliable. In terms of material cost (from a bulk comsosit dealer) you are looking at a max of $40 however the steel inserts will have to be produced by hand and may take a 3-4 hours work. following is (very basic) the lay-up schedualp-texfine weave surboard glass matmetal edgesUD glass ,-45 glass matwood core ,-45 glass matUD g;assfine weave surfboard glass matgelcoat

remember to keep your binding plates in place thoughout the lay-up process and remember to keep it quick and easy for yourself thelas thing you want is resin going off halfway through.well this is a super rough guide and your gunna have to do some more research before you start but i hope this helps a little, cheers and keep riding guys ;)

If you are using a foam core you have to make sure that the polyester resin will not melt it. This is not the case with epoxy. If you want to have a glossy surface on the glassing then you will have to add wax to the polyester resin epoxy resin doesn''t need wax. Polester is cheaper but more dangerous to work with

so ive got this burton dominant that i just cant bring myself to turf. The base or the p-tex i guess would be what its called is peeling off and i want to kno if theres any way to fix it. other then that the board is in mint shape.

Hey guys, if ya want to build your own snowboard... Search on google, ya''ll find all the information you''ll need. But to build your snowboard ya need a press (4000kg), and some work and patience.-;-;> graf snowboard is a good website...

I am very interested in learning every aspect of building snowboards from scratch. I am a hands on learner. I want to have some one show me in the flesh. Step by step. Anybody know anybody who would be interested in teaching me a course? I would pay...Email me rcpatrick0@gmail.com

go to a site called boardcrafted.com they telll u how to do every thing. there is a software u get from it the is $15 (Au) to buy. the guy teel u how to build it from start to finish. the also supply all the stuff to make it.